Nuclear reactor test site may close

Nov 2 2011

A nuclear submarine reactor test site could be decommissioned after 2015, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) site at Dounreay, in Caithness, has historically been used for the development of new reactor core designs.

However, the MoD said confidence in the technology and computational modelling meant "prototyping activities" were no longer needed.